AgClips
Recent AgClips
Paul McCartney and Woody Harrelson partner for meatless Monday film
live kindly | Posted onNovember 6, 2017 in Food NewsVeggie legend Sir Paul McCartney, as part of his successful ‘Meat Free Monday’ campaign, yesterday released a new short anti-meat film, featuring a previously unreleased song from Paul himself!
DowDuPont to exit cellulosic biofuels business
Biofuels Digest | Posted onNovember 2, 2017 in Agriculture, Energy NewsDowDuPont announced that it intends to sell its cellulosic biofuels business and its first commercial project, a 30 million gallon per year cellulosic ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa. The Nevada project is still going through start-up. The Nevada plant will be ‘kept warm’ but not operated going forward until a buyer is found. 90 workers are currently employed at the plant, and it can be assumed that this will be reduced to a skeleton staff until a buyer is found.
Trump’s EPA says Obama’s climate plan would save thousands of lives each year
The Washington Post | Posted onNovember 2, 2017 in Energy NewsA sweeping Obama-era climate rule could prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths per year by 2030, the Trump administration has found in its analysis of the plan, projecting that the plan could save more lives than the Obama administration said it would. The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency is moving to repeal the plan.The rule in question is the Clean Power Plan, which consists of regulations on U.S. power plants aimed at decreasing the country’s contribution to global climate change by reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.
Awaiting Trump's coal comeback, miners reject retraining
Reuters | Posted onNovember 2, 2017 in Energy, Federal NewsWhen Mike Sylvester entered a career training center earlier this year in southwestern Pennsylvania, he found more than one hundred federally funded courses covering everything from computer programming to nursing.
John Deere to celebrate 100 years of tractors in 2018
Imperial Valley News | Posted onNovember 2, 2017 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsA Gold Key Tour for a Florida family and delivery of their new 8245R John Deere tractor – the first 2018 tractor made in Waterloo, Iowa – has kicked off a series of events to celebrate the 100th anniversary of John Deere entering the tractor business. Deere hosted the Wade Purvis family of Naples, Florida, for the Gold Key event, during which customers can watch the final assembly of their newly purchased machine. The new tractor includes a commemorative badge that will be appear on several models of 2018 John Deere tractors including the 6 Series, 7 Series, 8 Series and 9 Series machines.
Supreme Court rejects Louisiana dirt farmer's appeal
Fox News | Posted onNovember 2, 2017 in Agriculture, Federal NewsThe justices did not comment Monday in leaving in place a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling against Chad Jarreau of Cut Off, Louisiana. The local government agency in charge of protection from hurricanes took the dirt from just under an acre of Jarreau's property to build up a nearby levee.The agency initially paid him just $1,326. Jarreau won a judgment of $164,000 for the dirt after a trial, but ended up with less than $12,000 after the state high court ruled.Jarreau had dug up most of his 17-acre tract and sold the dirt for use in construction projects.
Cargill aims to develop ‘birth to burger’ beef audit
Meatingplace (free registration required) | Posted onNovember 2, 2017 in Agriculture, Food, SARL Members and Alumni NewsCargill said it will launch an initiative this month in Canada to test new technologies for tracking cattle with the goal of developing a verified sustainability standard to give consumers more information about the beef they eat. Called the Cargill Canadian Beef Sustainability Acceleration pilot, the effort should move the company’s customers -- by the end of 2018 -- a step closer to providing consumers with beef from operations that have been audited from ‘birth to burger’ using an industry developed sustainability standard, Cargill said.
Ron Seeber named president and CEO of KGFA
Kansas Feed and Grain | Posted onNovember 2, 2017 in Agriculture, SARL Members and Alumni NewsKansas Grain and Feed Association’s (KGFA) board of directors announced senior vice president of government affairs, Ron Seeber, as the association’s president and CEO Monday morning. On Nov. 15, 2017, Seeber is set to become just the sixth person to hold KGFA’s top executive position since its inception in 1896. Seeber also will be the president and CEO of KGFA’s longstanding management contractors, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association and Renew Kansas.
Regulation Is Killing Community Banks – Public Banks Can Revive Them
Common Dreams | Posted onNovember 2, 2017 in Rural NewsCrushing regulations are driving small banks to sell out to the megabanks, a consolidation process that appears to be intentional. Publicly-owned banks can help avoid that trend and keep credit flowing in local economies.The number of US banks with assets under $100 million dropped from 13,000 in 1995 to under 1,900 in 2014. The regulatory burden imposed by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act exacerbated this trend, with community banks losing market share at double the rate during the four years after 2010 as in the four years before.
Federal Reserve: Observations on the Ag Economy- October ’17
University of Illinois | Posted onNovember 2, 2017 in Agriculture NewsThe Federal Reserve Board released its October 2017 Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District. The report included several observations pertaining to the U.S. agricultural economy. “On balance, crop conditions worsened in late August and September as drought conditions spread in the District.